Week 2

            The article by Gibson (2005) was beneficial to myself to see exactly how and why these genograms work so well with children and adolescents while reflecting upon ancestral career choices. As I work on my genorgram, I find that it would have been very helpful to have performed this activity in the past, even if I may have felt that my family would have little influence on my occupational or educational choices. I found the most compelling information in the article was when Gibson stated that children identify more with their mother’s occupation compared to the fathers. Gibson did not state why exactly this phenomenon occurs. And as we discussed during the first week of class, Gibson acknowledges that occupational aspirations form early in life.

            From my personal experience, my mother was a stay at home mom during my infancy and early childhood years. I remember very fondly, as I mentioned in class, that I wanted to be a waitress as early as I could remember. I thought for a moment about why that was the case. Then I remembered my aunt had been a waitress during my childhood. I thought very highly of my aunt, and she was only in her teens at the time. I remember riding around with her in her brand new car, and her having all the fun gadgets for me to play with. I thought being a waitress was the best paying job and I would always roll play as such with my sisters. Even though this wasn’t my mother’s job, I was probably just as close to, if not closer to my aunt as to my mother.

            The information in the article seems to coincide nicely with the information in chapter 2 of the textbook. Gottfredson’s study provided a deeper look into occupational preferences of children. A study by Tieg and Susskind (2008) that she referenced talks about girls preferring feminine occupations, and boys preferring male occupations that involve a higher status. The findings seem to be a result of gender roles that society labels appropriate for men and women. I agree with Gottfredson that more career development programs should be designed to help children think about occupational choices freely, without gender role stereotypes. I think encouragement should be provided for the genders to try out traditionally opposing occupational choices to open all possibilities available. 

Brown, D. (2012).  Career information, career counseling, and career development

            (10th ed.).  New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Donna M. Gibson. (2005). The Use of Genograms in Career Counseling With Elementary, Middle, and                 High School Students. The Career Development Quarterly. doi:10.1002/j.2161-                              0045.2005.tb00666.x